Girls Gone Mild, Surfing, And Fantasy Fiction

Girls Gone Mild: Demands For Modest Fashion

In 2004, an 11-year-old girl in Redmond wrote a letter to Nordstrom complaining that the choice of clothing available to her was too revealing; midriff shirts, low-riding pants. Today many still worry about the revealing clothing options for young girls. KUOW’s Steve Scher talked with Dr. Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington, and Laura Portolese Dias, an instructor of business administration now at Central Washington University, about where these trends come from and where to find modest clothing for children.

Surfing: Pacific Northwest Style

Frankie Avalon surfed in every beach party movie he made while Annette Funicello looked on lovingly. The movie "Blue Crush" profiled a bunch of girls who surfed competitively. Even Elvis surfed in one of his movies. But none of them surfed in the Pacific Northwest, which has the best swells in the world according to a study by legendary explorer Jacques Cousteau. The Pacific Northwest also has notoriously cold water, but that's not the worst of a surfer's worries compared to the strong currents and undertows. Marcie Sillman talked with Bobby Arzadon, owner and founder of the Perfect Wave Shop in Kirkland, and Eric Fleming, then middle school art teacher and longboard surfer, about surfin’ in the PNW.

The Allure Of Fantasy

Authors Terry Brooks and Greg Keyes have sold millions of copies of books. Both writers have legions of fans around the nation and the world, and both are part of a parallel universe of fantasy and science fiction: "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "The Lord of the Rings;" the list could go on and on. In 2004, Steve Scher talked with Brooks and Keyes about writing, working with George Lucas and the lasting allure of fantasy.